DUSHANBE, February 9, 2016, Asia-Plus – The U.S. Embassy Dushanbe conducted a handover of a newly-constructed sanitation facility to the Peacekeeping Battalion of the Mobile Forces, Ministry of Defense.

According to the U.S. Embassy, the facility, which includes latrines, shower rooms, and wash rooms, is intended to improve the living conditions for the battalion’s soldiers as they train in preparation for eventual deployment in support of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations.

This project, totaling over $250 thousand, was funded by a security assistance grant through the United States Department of State’s Global Peacekeeping Operations Initiative (GPOI).

Tajikistan has received a total of $6.6 million in GPOI funding since FY09, with annual funding averaging approximately $825 thousand.  These contributions have provided various training opportunities, exercises, equipment, infrastructure development, and the establishment of an English language laboratory at the Peacekeeping Battalion.